Blue Basketball Celebrates Senior Day, Falls to Wheaton, 61-49

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Visiting Wheaton College earned a 61-49 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over host Wellesley College basketball on Saturday afternoon at Gracia Mangano Martore '73 Court.

Wheaton outscored the Blue in all four quarters to earn their fifth win in their last six games and improve to 15-7 overall and 8-5 in conference. Wellesley drops to 3-17 on the year and 1-12 in the NEWMAC.

Prior to today's contest, Wellesley recognized seniors Alex Berman (Tucson, Ariz.) and Chelsi Scott (Portland, Mich.). Berman would go on to score eight points, all in the first quarter, while Scott scored six points and added a team-high eight rebounds.

Sophomore Chelsea Brown (San Jose, Calif.) had a breakout game for the Blue, scoring a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor to lead all players. Brown also knocked down a team-high four three pointers, as the Blue tied their season-high with nine in the contest. Classmate Kayla Jang (South Pasadena, Calif.) added 13 points and tied for game-high honors with five assists. 

Four Wheaton players finished in double-figures, led by senior Alyssa Almario's (West Orange, N.J.) 13 points. Senior classmates Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville, N.Y.) and Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H.) each scored 11, while junior Sophie Black (Gloucester, Mass.) came off the bench to score 12 points. Arnone also collected a game-high eight rebounds and five assists for the Lyons.

Both teams came out the gates ready to play, as Wellesley knocked down 5-of-8 three-pointers and Wheaton hit on 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in a back-and-forth opening quarter. With Wheaton leading 14-7 at 5:38, Brown and Jang knocked down back-to-back triples to put Wellesley out in front, 14-13. Wheaton countered with back-to-back buckets, before three-pointers from Jang and Berman helped Wellesley take a 19-18 lead at 1:18. Shoemaker and Black then hit on Wheaton's final two possessions of the quarter to give the Lyons a 22-19 lead going into the second.

The hot shooting carried over to the start of the second quarter, as each team hit three-pointers before Shoemaker made the score 27-22 with a layup at 6:22. Scott and Brown responded to knot the score at 27-all, before Shoemaker and first year Ashley Woodbury (Gorham, Maine) exchanged points to run the score to 29-29. Wheaton closed out the quarter with a Black layup and an Arnone three to take a 34-29 halftime advantage.

After outscoring the Blue 12-10 in the second quarter, the Lyons would go on to outscore Wellesley by the same margin in the third. Almario and Black each added four points in the quarter, while Brown scored seven for Wellesley, as the Lyons carried a 46-39 lead into the game's final quarter.

Wheaton closed out the contest in the fourth, opening the quarter on an 8-1 run to take a 54-40 lead, following a pair of free throws from Oppie Morris (Ware, Mass.) at 4:17. The Lyons would go on to lead by as many as 15 points before closing out the 61-49 victory.

Wheaton held a commanding 41-26 advantage on the glass, shooting 39.3 percent from the field in the game. Wellesley finished at 38 percent shooting in the contest, but was also 39.1 percent (9-23) from beyond the arc.

The Blue will hit the road next Saturday, February 13, for a 1:00 PM NEWMAC contest at Mount Holyoke. Wheaton will return to action on Wednesday, February 10, when they host Emerson at 8:00 PM.